Design Perspectives, Theories, and Processes for Engineering Systems Design

Book chapter, 2022

Engineering systems are socio-technical systems that provide solutions to fundamental economic and societal challenges. Such systems are complex in both technical and human terms. Engineering systems evolve over time, and uncertainty over time plays a decisive role. Perspectives on design, design theories, and design processes can be used to guide and support designers of engineering systems. This chapter provides an introduction to several well-established perspectives on design, such as design as participatory activity, design as unique mode of thinking, and more. In the same way design theories are introduced, exemplified by C-K theory, axiomatic design, domain theory, and others; and an introduction to well-known processes, including stage-based, agile, and set-based models and many more, is provided. It is explained how each of the discussed approaches offers valuable insights that help to address different aspects of complex systems design. The evolution of the approaches reflects the evolving recognition of users and context when designing engineering systems.